Gas burner and fuel igniter for fireplaces



D. 17, 193s J. T. LEiGm-ON 3,416,733

GAS BURNER AND FUEL IGNITER FOR FIREPLCES Filed May 5l, 1967 I lill- Il) /l www a6 j, @www ,4r-weven;

Unite States Patent O 3,416,733 GAS BURNER AND FUEL IGNITER FOR FIREFLACES Joseph T. Leighton, 5245 Topeka Drive, Tarzana, Calif. 91356 Filed May 31, 1967, Ser. No. 642,603 12 Claims. (Cl. 239-407) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A gas burner for fireplaces, fire pits and the like which is readily convertible from a maximum temperature deep blue flame for the ignition of fuel such as logs and charcoal to a gold or yellow fire for use with simulated logs and rocks producing a desired realistic appearing liarne by cutting down on the primary air mixed with the gaseous fuel within the burner. A venturi-like orifice is located in advance of the entrance for primary air into the burner and a diffusion throat is located downstream of the primary air entrance to create a desired pressure condition within the burner behind the orifices for the fuel mixture jets therefrom.

Background of the invention (l) The invention relates to gas burners providing for ready control of the fuel and air mixture to produce a flame of a desired color and temperature.

(2) Fireplace burners used both for igniting real logs and for playing flame over artificial logs are known in the art and it is further known to regulate the amount of primary air which is mixed with a gaseous fuel fed to the burners so as to control the temperature and color of the flame burning at the burner orifices. Such burners have conventionally been long pipes extending transversely the fireplace and having primary air controls not readily accessible and designed to be set in a regulated position for infrequent, if any, modification. Further, the burner constructions have not efficiently inducted the primary air and converted the fiow of the fuel mixture into pressure within the burner orifice chamber.

Summary of the invention The object of the present invention is to provide a versatile gas burner for fireplaces, fire pits and the like which can with ease and facility control the proportion of primary air to gaseous fuel in the fuel mixture so that the flame produced by `burning of the mixture from the fuelorifices can be readily varied progressively from the hottest, deep-blue flame through a lighter blue to a gold or yellow flame to produce either optimum ignition of real fuel or a fiame for simulated fuel of the desired color flame effects. The primary air control of the burner of the present invention presents maximum accessibility and may be readily varied in a continuous manner from deep blue to gold or yellow even while the burner is ignited so as to produce any fiame effect desired. A further object of the invention is the construction of a gas burner of this type in which there is an optimum arrangement of gas orifice and primary air entrance to produce the desired fuel mixture and in which the velocity or kinetic energy of the moving fuel mixture is diffused into a substantially uniform pressure condition in the burner orifice chamber.

These and other objects and features of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following specification and the appended drawings.

Brief description 0f the drawing FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a gas burner according to the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a horizontal sectional view, looking up- 3,416,733 Patented Dec. 17, 1968 ICC wardly, through the burner of the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a broken, -longitudinal sectional view on the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 indicates in phantom plan the maximum positions, closed and open, of the valve controlling the intake of primary air;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse, sectional view on the line 5--5 of FIGURE 2, the air valve being in a median position;

FIGURE 6 is a view similar to FIGURE 5 but with the air valve in full open position corresponding to high temperature, deep-blue flame; and

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURES 5 and 6 but with the air valve in closed position corresponding to a full yellow or gold flame.

Description of the preferred embodiment The burner according to the present invention, in its preferred embodiment, is exemplified by a main cast body 11 on the upper surface of which is rotatably mounted a primary air controlling valve 12. The burner is of a somewhat elongated, flat construction with a fiat top wall 13 from which depends a chambered body 14 in integral sealed relation. The ,back end 15 of the chambered body portion 15 is rounded, as shown in FIGURE 2, to provide a gas chamber 16 above a depending hub 17 which is interiorly threaded to receive a gas supply pipe 18 which may, for example, extend through the floor of a hearth or fireplace 19, and a collar 21 may be provided around the pipe 18 to conceal its point of exit from the floor.

The forward limit of the chamber 16 is defined by an integral transverse wall 22 through which is provided a restricted orifice opening 23 for the passage of the gas into a mixing chamber 24 forwardly of the chamber 16. The orifice 23 may be drilled, pierced, molded or otherwise provided in the wall 22 but may with facility be drilled therethrough and is preferably provided with an enlarged back counterbore 25 to provide, in effect, a venturi-like throat at 23 between the counterbore 25 and the chamber 24. An opening 26 may be drilled through the back wall of the burner inline with the orifice 23 to permit drilling thereof and of the counterbore 25. The opening 26 then closed by any type of plug, such as the threated one shown at 27.

The top wall 13 of the -burner above the mixing chamber 24 has a large opening 28 drilled or otherwise placed therethrough at the front edge of wall 22 for the entrance of primary air to mix with the gaseous fuel in the chamber 24. The front wall 29 of the chamber 24 has a large opening 31 therein leading through a forwardly diverging passage 33 into an orifice pressure `chamber 34 of the burner. The diverging passage 33 acts as a diffuser throat converting the kinetic energy of the fuel mixture fiowing through the opening 31 into pressure energy within the orifice chamber 34.

The orifice chamber 34 is of generally fan shape, as shown in FIGURE 2, and is formed by a forwardly diverging body portion 34 which has an integral, arcuate, front wall 36 through which are drilled burner jet orifices 37 substantially radially of the arcuate wall 36. The fuel mixture jets emerging from the orifices 37 will themselves continue to fan out to produce a substantially fan-shaped fiame which will curve upwardly through the real or simulated logs, rocks or the like above the plane of the burner. The burner may be of any desired material such as cast iron and be supported solely by its engagement on the end of the pipe 18, or its front end may be directly supported by an abutment surface therebeneath.

The air valve 12 has a pointed front indicator end 38 which by its position in the directions of the lines 39 and 40 of FIGURE 4, indicates the fully open and fully closed conditions, respectively, of the primary air inlet 28 and corresponding, respectively to the valve positions shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. The valve 12 is rotatably mounted on the top wall 13 of the burner by a stud 50 having its lower end threaded into the wall 13. The stud 50 passes through a hole 51 through the valve 12, the hole being counterbored at 52 to receive a coil spring 53 which presses against the bottom of counterbore 52 to hold the valve tightly against the top wall of the burner in sealing relation. A drain hole 54 is provided through the bot-tom wall of the burner. The back end of the valve 12 is widened at 41 and has a passage 42 cut to one side thereof the passage terminating at the wall 43. Forwardly of the inner end of the passage 42 is a recess 44 in which is disposed a pin 45 rigidly mounted in the top wall 13 of the burner and engaging the opposite side walls of the recess 44 to limit the rotational arc of the valve 12 to that indicated in FIGURE 4.

As shown in the fully opened position of FIGURE 6, the wall 43 is disposed at the side of the opening 28 to fully communicate it with the passage 42 thus conducting maximum primary air into the mixing chamber 24 and to produce a hot blue flame from the fuel mixture exiting from the jet orifices 37. In the median position of FIG- URE 5, which is also shown in FIGURES 1-3, the wall 43 substantially bisects the opening 28 to partially restrict the flow of primary air through the opening 28 and thereby produce a light blue flame in the burning fuel mixture. In FIGURE 7, the wall 43 is at the opposite side of the opening 28 from FIGURE 6 so that the bottom surface 46 of the valve 12 entirely closes the opening 28, prevents primary air from entering the chamber 24, and produces least efiicient combustion of the fuel exiting the orifices 37, resulting in a yellow or gold flame characteristic of incomplete combustion and an insufficient supply of primary air. While such fuel burning may be inefficient, it produces a highly desirable and pleasing flame effect when the burner is used with artificial fuel to simulate burning thereof.

In the operation of the burner the amount of gas fed through the inlet pipe 18 is controlled by an exterior gas valve, not shown but well-known in the art. The gas in passing through the orifice 23, by a venturi-like effect sucks primary air through the opening 28 which mixes with the gas in the chamber 24 and the fuel mixture passes through the opening 31 into the diffuser throat 33 where its velocity is converted into pressure for the burner orifice chamber 34. The fuel mixture, is under substantially uniform pressure within the pressure 34 and therefore passes substantially uniformly through the orifices 37 to produce a fan-like flame curving upwardly into contact with the real or simulated fuel thereabove. If real fuel is to be burned, the burner will function only to ignite it and for this purpose the valve 12 is in its fully opened position as in FIGURE 6, with its pointer 38 aligned with the line 39 of FIGURE 4 whereby maximum primary air is drawn through the opening 28 into the chamber 24 to mix with the gas therein, the mixture when burned producing a high heat, deep-blue flame which will quickly ignite the logs, charcoal or the like which are to produce the real flame.

Where simulated fuel is used, various effects may be produced by locating the valve in various positions between the line 39 yand the line 40. Ordinarily, the deepblue ame produced in the open position of the valve is not as pleasing as the lighter colored flames which are produced with less primary air and less efiicient combustion. The color of the flame may be varied in a progressive fashion from deep blue at the fully opened position of FIGURE 6 to light yellow in the fully closed position of FIGURE 7, with the median position of FIGURE producing, for example, a light blue which progressively changes toward the yellow shades as the opening 2S is further closed by the valve 12 being moved more toward its closed position.

The burner of this invention provides for versatile operating, being readily and conveniently varied from a hot flame to a pleasing effect7 luminous flame. It feeds the fuel mixture in a yfan-shape from radial jets substantially uniformly fed from radial orifices communicating with a substantially uniform pressure chamber. The internal gas orifice passage is advantageously located to induct primary air into the mixing chamber. The burner is compact, lightweight and economical and by the fan-like disposition of the fuel mixture jets produce a wide flame for ignition or display from a narrow and compact construction.

While a certain preferred embodiment of the invention has been specifically illustrated and described herein, it is understood that the invention is not limited therein as many variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art and 4the invention is to be given its broadest interpretation within the terms of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A gas burner comprising:

a substantially fiat body portion with a substantially vertical, arcuate forward end wall;

a plurality of jet orifices extending substantially radially -through said arcuate end wall;

a fuel mixture pressure chamber within said body portion bounded by said arcuate end wall;

means for feeding fuel into said pressure chamber including a gas chamber and a mixing chamber intercommunicating said gas and pressure chambers;

an opening into said mixing chamber for primary air to mix with the gas flowing therein from said gas chamber;

and a readily positionable valve mounted on the top wall of the burner for convenient regulation of the air opening to vary the proportion of primary air mixed with the gas and fed to the burner orices whereby to change the character of the flame fed by the burner.

2. The burner as defined in claim 1 in which the fuel mixture, issuing through said radially disposed orifices under suflicient pressure, fans out to a Width substantially greater than the width of the burner.

3. The burner defined .in claim 1 including:

a restricted orifice communicating said gas chamber and said mixing chamber and disposed substantially in alignment with the edge of the primary lair entrance whereby to induct primary air into the mixing chamber with a venturi-like effect.

4. The burner defined in claim 1 including:

a diverging diffusion throat connecting said mixing chamber with said pressure chamber to convert the kinetic energy of the fuel mixture passing through the diffusion throat into pressure in said pressure chamber.

5. The burner defined in claim 1 in which the top wall of said burner is substantially fiat and has the primary air entrance therethrough, said valve also being of substantially flat construction;

means pivotally mounting said valve to move across the top wall of the burner in contact therewith;

a side opening passage in said valve movable into and out of communication with said primary air entrance to control the amount of primary air entering the mixing chamber and the character of the ame supplied by the burner.

6. The burner defined in claim 1 in which said pressure chamber, mixing chamber and gas chamber are substantially in alignment along the axis of the burner.

7. The burner defined in claim 6 and including:

a diverging diffusing throat interconnecting said `mixing chamber and pressure chamber and also aligned with said chambers along the burner axis.

8. The burner as defined in claim 6 in which said entrance for primary air is located in the top wall of the burner above and in alignment with the burner axis.

9. The burner as dened in claim 6 including:

means providing a pivotal axis for said valve is substantially in alignment with the axes of the burner and said chambers.

10. The burner as defined in claim 9 including:

biasing `means associated With said pivotal axis means for biasing the valve into sealing relation with the surface about said air opening.

11. A gas burner including:

an elongated hollow body portion;

a gas chamber at one end of said body portion;

a sector-like pressure chamber at the other end of said ybody portion having an arcuate end Wall with substantially radially disposed orifice holes therethrough adapted to project jets of fuel mixture in a fan like configuration to produce -a llame substantially wider than the burner;

a mixing chamber in said body portion adjacent said gas chamber and between said gas chamber and pressure chamber;

a restricted orifice communicating said gas chamber With said mixing chamber;

an entrance into said mixing chamber for primary -air drawn therein by the action of said gas orifice;

and a diffusion chamber in said body portion inter- 25 communicating said lmixing chamber and said pressure chamber, said pressure, diffusion and gas chambers being substantially aligned along the axis of the burner.

12. The burner as dcned in claim 9 in Which said burner has a flat top Wall thereon, said primary air entrance passing through said top Wall;

and a valve member pivotally mounted on said top wall to rotate -thereover to control the amount of air passing through said primary air entrance.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS EVERETT W. KIRBY, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

